Flint will always be home for former NBA veteran Trent Tucker

View full sizeAP PhotoFlint's Trent Tucker talks to the crowd last February after his basketball jersey was retired by the University of Minnesota.

(Editor’s note: First in a monthly series focusing on local athletes, their accomplishments and where they are now.)

With General Motors in full throttle, Flint once produced a heap of jobs.

Citizens would flock from all over the country to the area in search of employment. The automobile industry reportedly employed more than 80,000 local people in its heyday.

Ultimately, this is what brought a future NBA veteran to Genesee County.

Trent Tucker and his family relocated from North Carolina to Flint in 1966.

Tucker was only 7 years old when his father accepted a position at GM.

“I went to Jefferson Elementary School, I went to Bryant Junior High and then I finished out my high school at Flint Northwestern,” said Tucker, who now lives in the Minneapolis area. “Flint was a wonderful place for me to grow up in. It gave me a lot of the values that I have today to leave home and mix in other places.”

As many good things that Tucker said the city has instilled into him, he also left a solid mark on the territory.

At Northwestern, Tucker played under legendary coach Grover Kirkland.

The six-foot-five guard was a Class A All-State player for the Wildcats.

He started on Kirkland’s varsity squad for three seasons, while setting the single-game scoring record (49 points) before three-point shots were part of the game.

View full sizeNBAE/Getty ImagesDrafted with the sixth overall by the Knicks in 1982, Trent Tucker was a three-point specialist who hit one of the most controversial shots in NBA history. His game-winning shot with .1 second on the clock led to implementing the "Trent Tucker Rule," requiring there be .3 seconds on the clock.

He insists that his toughest rival was his cousin, former Flint Northern star Craig Tucker. Tucker was Kirkland’s first professional basketball player. Kirkland claims he saw the pro potential in Tucker all throughout his high school stint.

“My favorite memory of him is when we played against Saginaw High in the regional semifinals and they came in as the No. 1 team, and Trent sent them home,” Kirkland reflected. “He was a tremendous athlete and a tremendous person.”

From 1978-82, Tucker attended the University of Minnesota, where he led the Golden Gophers to a Big-Ten title in 1982.

He was also an All-Big Ten recipient. Minnesota has since retired his No. 32 jersey.

In 1982, the New York Knicks drafted the three-point marksman with the sixth overall pick.

He enjoyed 11 years in the NBA with the Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and the Chicago Bulls.

Tucker is still known for the “Trent Tucker Rule.”

He forced the NBA to modify its rules after he connected on a buzzer-beater with 0.1 remaining in 1990.

At least 0.3 seconds must now be on the clock in order for a player to complete a shot. His run in the league was capped by an NBA championship with Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1992-93 season.

Tucker scored 6,237 points, dished out 1,532 assists and ended with a 40.9 three-point field goal percentage over his career.

He still holds the Bulls’ team record for most consecutive 3-pointers made in a game with the six he nailed against the Atlanta Hawks in 1993.

Since his retirement, Tucker has worked as a sports analyst for radio and television, hosted 25 summer basketball clinics, and launched the Trent Tucker Non-Profit Organization, which features the “All 4 Kids Foundation.”

Tucker’s aim is to empower underprivileged youth by developing the skills they need to make positive choices in social and academic environments, according to the foundation’s website.

“I spend most of my time now working on educational programs for young people,” Tucker confirmed. “Education is the future for us all.”

Although the program’s central location is in Minneapolis, he is working toward bringing the idea back home.

He hasn’t forgotten about his hometown.

“Flint will always be home for me. Flint is where it started,” he added. “Even though I live in Minneapolis and I’ve lived in New York and Chicago, I will always have love for Flint.”